Alfred herman koeller



(No Model.)

A. H. KOE'LLER.

GAR FENDER.

No. 537,211. -PatentedApn 9, 1895.

J. ,r ...31d Qd...

"Nrrno STATES' PATENT FFICE.

ALFRED HERMAN KOELLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CAR-FENDER.

SPEoIFIcATIoN forming part QfLetters'Patent No. 537,211, dated April 9,1895.

Application filed 'september 11,1894. strain. 522,702. (rommel.) i

To all whom it may comerm- Be it known that I, ALFRED HERMAN KOEL- han,a citizen of the United States, residing 1n the city and county of NewYork, in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

The improvement is intended for cars which run slngly or in small trainson the streets of cities, and in analogous situations, impelled by cableor by other means as by electricity. It belongs to that class in whichan extended net or other receptacle is provided in front of the end ofthe carto receive any person or object which shall be struck andpreserve it from serious injury. There have been many efforts in thisline.

The necessity for traversing curves requires that the ordinarysupporting wheels of the car shall be near the mid-length. Theunavoidable irregularities in the track impart motions to the car whichare liable to be increased by the action of the springs, and such carsare especially liable vto a pitching motion which will raise and lowerthe ends several inches.

My invention provides for mounting the fender on the car end and yetallowing it to travel with practical uniformity at a little height abovethe track.

The fender is formed with an arm at each side which is connected to thecar by a universal joint so that it can allow the front end to rise andsink as far as is ever required in practice, and also to be deflected tothe right and left to the considerable extent required in traversingordinary moderate curves on the road. A cross-bar loosely connects thefront ends of these arms Vand carries small wheels specially adapted toendure the conditions, and having each a flange corresponding to theiianges of the large wheels, which traverse on the rail and control theposition of the front of the device. The car may pitch forward andbackward, and roll and turn partially from side to side, Withoutmaterially disturbing the front edge of the fender.

I makethe fender light, and adapted to be easily transferred from onecar to another, or

5o from one end to another of the same car, when such change becomesnecessary.

I provide forholding down the small wheels reliably `u pon the track bysprings peculiarly mounted.

I provide means for lifting the front edge and holding the small wheelsclear of the track whenever required. f

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification 'andrepresent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention applied to a car. Fig. 2is an end view seen from the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view withthe roof of the car removed. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same part seenfrom below. In all these Iigures the ,universal joint is shown as formedby a rounded hook on the lever dropped in to a rounded eye Von the carplatform. Fig. 5 is on alarger scale. It is a horizontal section throughone of the small bearin g wheels with a plan view of the adjacentportion of the cross-bar on which the wheel is allowed to turn looselyby the aid of anti-friction balls. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion ona larger scale; and Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures where they appear.

A is the main body of the car; A', the platform; A2, the dash-board orfront AS, one of the cross timbers or bolsters of the car, and

A4 arms extending rigidly downward near the end of the car.

B, B, are the ordinary supporting wheels of the car.V They are, asusual, fast on their axles, B', and carried in boxes C supplied withlubricating material, with liberty to move up and down in jaws A5, andsupport the car-body by means of springs D, constructed and arranged inanyrordinary or suitable manner.

M, M, are levers provided each with a short rounded hook or arm M', bywhich it maybe engaged in a pocket or` socket a in the front end of thecar, one on each side. P is across-bar connecting the front ends of thelevers M by the aid of bolts and nuts P', P2, and provided with bearingsP3 and nuts P4 adapted to form by the aid of the rolling balls Qreliable anti-friction bearings for small ICOl wheels R, havingrelatively large tianges R', and adapted to traverse lightly butreliably on the track, one wheel on each rail.

T, T, are contractile springs of steel or other suitable material, eachconnecting an eye M2 on the under side of a lever M with an arm A4. Thearran gem entlmak es these springs act ver)T efficiently to hold thewheels R down upon the track while running, but when the fender islifted the angle at which the springs act being changed they relax theforce so that a slight force will hold the fender elevated.

The netor screen E extends across with a little slack between the leverM and the front cross-bar P and the dashboard or front A2 of the car.Any person or object struck bythe car in rapid motion is tripped by mydevice and caught ou the net E and retained until the car can bestopped. lVhen the car tilts or pitches forward and backward, the leversM yield vertically. When the car twists to the ordinary small amountexperienced in practice, or traverses a curved portion of the road, thelevers M turn laterally to accommodate such motion.

It is important to provide means for elevating the fender so that thewheels R and their flanges R shall be entirely clear of the track, whennecessary, as in passingcertain switches and abrupt curves. The driveror motor-man effects this when required by a vigorous action of hisfoot.

lV is a treadle playing through the platform A', and havingan extendedtop, whichnnder ordinary conditions stands several inches or a footabove the platform. It connects to a V-shaped lever Y, pivoted at twowidely separated points on the bolster Aand bearing on a cross-bar Nwhich is loosely connected at each end to a rearward extension M3 of alever M. Under ordinary conditions the superior gravity of the forwardportion of the device, aided by the considerable force of the springs T,while the fender is depressed holds the wheels R down upon theirrespective rails and insures that the front edge ofthe net E issupported at the small distance above the track required for successfulworkin g. Under these conditions the bar N is carried high, and thelever Y and treadle W are held in a correspondingly high position, thesmooth upper surface of the bar N playing to the right and left underthe two bearing points ot' the V- shaped lever, in the obvious manner,to accommodate the lateral movements of the levers llldue to theirregularities of the motions or the curves of the track. When anoccasion arises for elevating the fender, the attendant throws hisweight upon the treadle W, depressing the lever Y and consequently thecross-bar N, and raising the front of the fender so that the wheels areclear of the track. The bearings of the lever Y on the bar N insure thatthe depression of the two ends ofthe bar shall be substantially equal,and consequently that the two wheels R and the whole front of the deviceshall be raised with practical uniformity from one side across to theother. Thechangedangleatwhichthesprings T exert their tension greatlyreduces the et'- fect at these periods. Thus conditioned, the car maytravel over obstacles or over a switch, or the greatly curved portionsofthe track which occur at the entrance to the car-house.

The pockets a may be iron. They form with the rounded ends of the arms Muniversal joints for allowing the levers M to be deflected to asuliicient degree in all directons,up, down and sidewise. The gravity ofthe levers M and their attachments aided by the tension of the springs Tholds each projection M' always reliably engaged in its pocket or socketa.

Whenever it shall be necessary to disconnect the principal parts ot' myinvention and put them out of use, or transfer them to another car, orto the other end of the same car, l detach the fastenings which hold thenet E to the dashboard A2, and detach the rear ends 9o of the springs Tfrom the rigid arms A4. Now on lifting the levers M sufficiently todetach the arms M from the pockets a, all the removable parts are clearof the car.

I allow the V-shaped lever Y to remain, and provide a pin A6 shown instrong lines in Fig. 4, and in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3,-to supportit. These pins reach inward toward the center line of the track fromeach arm A2. They are of no effect except when the main 10o portion ofmy mechanism is removed and it is required to simply hold up theV-shaped lever Yand keep it clear of the ground, until the apparatusshall be again restored to a working condition. i

The treadle W may be allowed to remain. When not required it may belifted out of its socket and stored in any convenient place untilwanted.

Modifications may he made in the details. 11o The rear end of the net Emay be wider so as to reach considerably outside of the lever M.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a car-fender, a net supported at thesides by levers turning on universal joints 115 carried on the car,incombination with flanged wheels running on the rails at the front of thefender, and with springs extending 1ongitudinally and connecting to armsA4 extending downward from the car body, arranged to 12o depress thelevers to hold the wheels upon the track with a force which isdiminished with the elevation of the fender, and with provisions forlifting the front edge at will, all substantially as herein specified.

2. In a car-fender, a net supported at the sides by levers turning onuniversal joints, carried on the car,in combination with flanged wheelsrunning on the rails at the front ot the fender, and with springs at therear ar- 13o ranged to depress the levers to hold the wheels Intestimony that I claim the invention upon the track, and with thetreadle W, arabove set forth I afx my signature in pres- 15 ranged tobe'depressed by the attendant, the ence of Ytwo witnesses. lever Yoperated thereby and the cross-bar N 5 loosely connected to rearwardlyextending ALFRED HERMAN KOELLER arms of the levers, adapted to allow thefender Witnesses: to be raised both sides alike, all substantiallyALBERT M. ROGERS,

as herein specified. FRANK M. WEST.

